1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanical press and in particular, to a flywheel subject to a possible axial movement during rotation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mechanical presses such as straight side presses and gap frame presses for stamping and drawing comprise a frame for reciprocal motion towards and away from the bed. The slide is driven by a crankshaft having a connecting arm connected to the slide to which is mounted the upper die. The lower die is mounted to a bolster which, in turn, is connected to the bed. Such mechanical presses are widely used for blanking and drawing operations and vary substantially in their the size and available tonnage, depending on their intended use.
The primary source for stored mechanical energy in a mechanical press is a flywheel. The flywheel is located between the main drive motor and the clutch. The flywheel and the flywheel bearings are mounted on either the driveshaft, crankshaft, or the press frame by use of a quill. The train motor replenishes the energy lost from the flywheel during press stamping operations when the clutch couples the flywheel to the press driven parts. During engagement of the clutch, the flywheel drops in speed and the press driven parts come up to press running speeds. During engagement with the clutch, the press flywheel rotates in unison with the clutch while the flywheel bearings have no relative motion, except in the case of the use of the quill where relative motion is always present.
One problem with current mechanical presses is that during operation, there may be axial movement of the flywheel as the flywheel rotates about the driveshaft, crankshaft, or quill. Axial movement of the flywheel may result in abnormal wear of bearings and other parts. For example, the quill can be scored if the axially moving flywheel's bushings contact the quill.